Sage Advice

Sage is another plant you can grow year round in Southwest Florida. Srsly, you can! They just want watered frequently in the summer. While such an lovely, aromatic plant for a long time I just couldn't figure out what to do with it. Most recipes are as a flavoring for meat dishes and for a variety of reasons there's just not that much meat in our household anymore.

Another favorite paring is with butternut squash, but again, if you are eating locally in Florida butternut squash just isn't available that often. So, what was the solution? After some research I came across Sage Pesto. If you do a Google search you'll come across several variations, but here is my own.

Sage Pesto Recipe
2-3 cups of sage leaves
olive oil to your preference
2-3 garlic cloves to your preference
salt [lightly] & pepper
1/4 cup pine nuts or so [you can also use almonds or walnuts for different variations]

I know I'm not specific on measurements, but I mix and taste and adjust.

Let me tell you--this is one spectacular pesto. Good on bread and pasta [if you are going to add some cheese to the pasta, I'd use grated Asiago]. It's often paired with butternut squash because it's sweet. So, if you substitute sweet vegetable for squash, realistically you can pair it with any caramelized vegetable. I'll confess for company I do sometimes pair it with butternut squash ravioli. But at least the pasta is made locally!

Another favorite sage recipe: Sage, onion and pine nut pizza. I order a plain cheese pizza with no sauce from our local delivery guys, top it with sage, green onions and pine nuts, put it under the broiler until the toppings are browned, voila!

Fried sage leaves are also spectacular but I cringe a bit at fried.


Magic wonders why more people don't heed the wisdom of cats. Spend a lot of time outdoors running around, balanced by long naps in the sun, and snuggles. [Sage advice, remember?]